Stories - S E P T E M B E R

Back to school... at last!

“School tomorrow Ben,” Mum says, rather obviously, as she sets the table for dinner.

“Excellent,” I chirp, wearing an exaggerated smile.

Parents don’t like it when they can’t nag you about something, because nagging is their main purpose in life.

“Tomorrow you’ll need to get up at seven; no more laying in bed ’til noon,” she says.

“Easy Peasy, I’ve already set my alarm,” I gaily reply.

Mum eyes me suspiciously, as she carefully lowers the tuna-pasta-bake onto the table.

But, funnily enough, for once I really am looking forward to school, and have been from the day we broke up six weeks ago.

Every morning I have thought of her; gazed at her face on my phone, and savoured the memory of her touching my shoulder and wishing me ‘Happy holidays!’.

Rhiannon… lovely Rhiannon.

Snakes in September

“So, it’s been a while.”

“Eleven years, three months and six days to be exact.”

Peter frowned at the woman standing next to the restaurant table; he recognized the face but he couldn’t remember the name.

“To be exact?” he said.

“Exactly,” she replied through an unnatural grin.

“Might I ask how you can be so s-s-specific?” he asked as he stood to meet her at eye level.

“Because I’ve kept track… because the CSA will want to know,” she said, wiping a greasy clump of hair from her face.

Everyone at the table froze; and the ladies, with their perfectly manicured hands, and the men, with their perfectly manicured beards, formed a contemporary tableau of professional thirty-somethings.

“Right,” Peter said eventually, “I need a drink and then we’d better have a chat, erm…,” but his voice petered out as he slithered away to the bar.